The islands have remained in dispute, but tensions have increased over the past year. In April 2013, a Japanese nationalist group sent several boats into the disputed waters, a mission aimed at “publicizing Japan’s territorial claim to the area.” China responded by sending five more ships to the already three ships stationed in the waters to monitor Japan’s activity. When Japan’s coast guard ordered the Chinese ships to leave, the ships refused, claiming they were “patrolling Chinese territory.” Eventually the ships set out by the Japanese nationalist group left the area without incident. The islands are important to both countries because the territory that owns the islands has “exclusive oil, mineral, and fishing rights in surrounding waters.”